1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc changer. Particularly, the invention relates to a disc changer incorporated in a disc drive unit, the disc changer having a disc reproducing device that reproduces the content of a disc taken out from a disc accommodation section, using a rotating swing arm.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a cassette tape has been the mainstream medium recorded with music to provide music in a motor vehicle. However, a disc medium such as a compact disc (CD) and a mini disc (MD) is now mainly used in place of the cassette tape. Because the disc is thinner than the cassette tape, and particularly because an optical disc like the CD is not in a case, a disc changer that accommodates plural discs in a reproducing device and reproduces the recorded content by changing the discs is popular. A disc changer is also being developed for a digital versatile disc (DVD) type of optical disc.
This disc changer of optical discs has a disc accommodation section capable of separately accommodating plural discs, one by one, inside a casing. A rotating swing arm takes out a desired one of the discs from this disc accommodation section, and reproduces the content of the disc using an optical head. When the reproduction ends, the swing arm returns the disc to the disc accommodation section. In general, a turntable on which a disc is rotated and a clamper that fixes the disc onto the turntable are provided at the front end of the swing arm. An optical head moves in a radial direction of the optical disk, on a moving path formed on the swing arm, on the disc that rotates on the turntable, thereby reproducing the information recorded on the disc. Generally, the disc changer has the disc accommodation section movably arranged, in the up and down directions, to facilitate the taking out of a desired one disc from the disc accommodation section.
However, the rotating swing arm has a rotation axis at only one end of the swing arm. Therefore, when this swing arm is used for the reproducing device of the disc exchanger, the front end of the swing arm is fluctuated due to the oscillation of a turntable that rotates during the reproduction of a disc. Consequently, this has a risk that the data recorded on the disc is read inaccurately. To solve this problem, there is a method of pressing the front end of the swing arm with a spring. However, the front end of the swing arm is easily fluctuated due to a loosening of members that constitute the swing arm, and the fluctuation of the front end of the swing arm cannot be solved completely.
When a disc of which content is to be reproduced is mounted on and fixed to the rotating swing arm used for the reproducing device of the disc changer, the swing arm is rotated to a position of the center hole of the disc held in the disc accommodation section. The disc accommodated in the accommodation section immediately above this position is placed on the turntable and is fixed to the turntable. In this case, when the front end of the swing arm is distorted, the disc is not accurately fixed to the front end of the swing arm.